Child Soldiers in Nepal
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Child soldiers
CHILD SOLDIERS in Nepal
Children in Armed Conflicts
Verification of under aged PLA personnel
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UNMIN: Verification of under aged PLA personnel

Kathmandu, 27 December 2007 UNMIN

Statement by Ian Martin
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Question: 4,008 are disqualified and almost 3,000 are minors. What is the criteria?

Ian Martin: We had to apply two criteria, one whether those involved were over eighteen or under eighteen on the 25th of May 2006, and secondly, whether they were recruited before or after that date. So the others are those who were assessed to have been over 18 but to have been recruited after the 25th of May 2006. Now, we also believe that a significant number of the minors were recruited after the 25 May 2006, but once someone was assessed to have been a minor it wasn't necessary to go on and apply the second criterion of date of recruitment as well.

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Question: What happens to those children, those who are under 18 years of age?

Ian Martin: So far as the minors are concerned, as I indicated, UNICEF has been ready for some time with other organisations working with children to assist. That assistance obviously can include assisting people in returning to education if that's their wish, or vocational training or other kind of assistance to reintegrate into their communities.

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UNMIN: Verification of PLA personnel - 2nd Phase
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The corrected number of PLA personnel registered in the first phase was 31,318.
18,923 of these personnel were verified in the second phase as members of the Maoist army.
An additional 932 persons who had not been registered in the first phase were presented for the verification process in the second phase. 679 of this total were verified as members of the Maoist army.
8,640 personnel did not appear for verification interviews in the second phase and were automatically disqualified.
4,008 persons remain to be discharged from cantonments after the total of absentees has been taken into account.
2,973 of this total were assessed to be under the age of 18 on 25 May 2006.
The full total verified as members of the Maoist army is thus 19,602,
comprising 15,756 men and 3,846 women.
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Statement by Ian Martin
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Question: Regarding the 8,641 who did not attend the second phase of verification. Do you have any idea, among them, how many have been involved in the YCL?

Ian Martin: We don't know. I mean, frankly, we have a little information as to where those people are at the moment. Certainly some of the child protection agencies have come across some of them back in their own communities. It may indeed be that some are now active in the YCL in their own communities or elsewhere. But we simply don't have that information.

Ian Martin: We do engage in 24-hour surveillance of weapons storage, because they are gathered together in seven sites, Maoist cantonments, and one for the Nepal Army.

Source: UNMIN , December 2007

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UNMIN Combatants verification process 2007
IRIN Interview on demobilisation of child soldiers
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